UPCOMING EVENTS

There has been plenty of controversy around which iPhone applications are appropriate for the Apple App Store, including the heated rejection of Google Voice. In this context, it’s almost shocking that Crowded Road‘s new Security Cam iPhone app has been accepted to the App Store.

The camera app is pretty questionable on its own. It basically turns your iPhone into a functioning “security and spy camera,” according to its developer. Promoting users to spy on people and take pictures without their knowledge doesn’t seem very socially responsible to me — something that you’d think the Apple guard dogs would have caught onto by now.

Regardless, if you’re looking to get into the security or spy business, the app has some pretty impressive features. Notably, users are able to customize an audio trigger so that the camera will only snap a photo when a certain audio level is reached (perfect for trying to catch Dad sneaking ice cream from the refrigerator at 2 a.m. while you’re asleep upstairs). Other features include a frequency function that lets you set a countdown till a picture is taken, a time and date stamp, as well as a battery conservation option, allowing the iPhone to go into sleep mode until a specific time.

There are other iPhone apps that have similar features, including DSLR Camera Remote. This app lets you use your iPhone to tell your camera when to take a picture from anywhere. The only catch is that the camera has to be connected to a computer to work. DSLR lets users fiddle with preferences, like shutter speed and white balance. You can also look through the camera’s viewfinder remotely and view images after a shot is taken. Whether or not these options will be integrated into Security Cam is unknown.

But until then, kudos to Crowded Road for squeaking this app through Apple’s own tight security. I’m sure app reviewers saw it as a playful tool, though from the picture the company supplied above it seems obvious that it can be used in a work setting when those being photographed have no idea it’s there.

The app will cost just 99 cents for the first 1,000 to download it, and will be bumped up to $2.99 after that. You can purchase it here.